Marco and the King AU
by GothicHalfa1
Summary: In the episode Marco and the King, during the scene where River was questioning whether he was fit to rule the kingdom, what if instead of simply handing Marco his crown, he would have actually placed it on top of Marco's head? Further more, what if Marco couldn't take it off no matter how hard he tried? Just an idea I got from an episode of Danny Phantom-better description inside.
1. Marco and the King

**A/N – In the episode ' _Marco and the King_ ,' the scene where River gave Marco his crown in despair made me think, ' _What if he would have actually placed the crown on top of Marco's head, instead of merely handing it to him?_ ' Honestly, even I've got to say, it probably wouldn't have made much difference. If anything, Marco would have most likely been momentarily shocked, quickly took it off in uneasiness, before going on with the rest of the episode like normal… end of story. But then I thought of an episode from the show Danny Phantom entitled ' _Beauty Marked_.' In it, Sam gets an enchanted ghost tiara placed upon her head which she cannot take off for the life of her. It is later revealed that only one of the royal family (from the section of the Ghost Zone that Sam was taken to) has the power to take the tiara off/on at will. This, in turn, made me wonder, ' _What if the Butterfly's crowns worked the same way?'_ And thus, this fanfic was born!**

Disclaimer – I own absolutely nothing! Also, this is NOT a crossover fic with Danny Phantom, I just got an idea from it.

Marco and the King

Ever since Queen Moon left the kingdom with their daughter Princess Star, King River had been partying hard! So much so, that after many days of such reckless behavior, chaos began to wreak havoc across the land amongst its own citizens. Unfortunately, River was too preoccupied with getting the next party started to notice the trouble brewing underneath his own nose. It wasn't that the king didn't care about his people to leave them to fend for themselves on purpose, in fact, he thought his parties were what made the people happy. After all, who doesn't enjoy getting down every once in a while! Only, the king's parties never seemed to have an end, and everyone was getting exhausted. So, to say the unexpected arrival of Star's best friend, Marco Diaz, was anything less than a miracle would be an understatement.

"Marco!" River shouted, excited to see a familiar face. Especially the face of the one he was already convinced was his daughter's boyfriend.

"Oh, hey River…" the boy began with a smile. Before he could finish, however, he found himself being crushed in a giant bear hug by the massive king.

"Marco, my boy! I can't believe you're here!" He started before asking about some monkey Marco clearly had no idea about. River cut off his own sentence when he heard a sudden crunch noise coming from between them. After taking a step back, the king found a weird, crumpled box pressed up against Marco's waist leaving a deep imprint into his hoodie, "Huh, what's this?"

"Well, they _were_ Captain Blanche's Sugar Seeds," Marco pointed out, emphasizing the word 'were' as he noticed how the whole box was now ruined thanks to the previous hug the king shared, "it's, uh, Star's favorite cereal! You can't get them on Mewni, so I brought her a box."

River managed to maintain a straight face through Marco's explanation, but deep down, he was proud to hear how much the young boy truly cared about his beloved daughter. The teen was willing to literally jump between dimensions just to make her happy, even if all he did was bring her one of her favorite foods. He knew there couldn't possibly be anyone better for his little girl, but the protective father couldn't let this potential 'daughter stealer' know that! Without skipping a beat, he covered up his true emotions with scrutiny, "Marco, you're not giving that to my daughter, it's all smashed! Probably a good thing she's not here." He finished his sentence while walking away.

All Marco could do was sigh in exasperation.

River quickly took the opportunity to change the subject. Waving his hands in front of a giant set of speakers, he proclaimed, "Now there must be some other way to summon forth the music. We will rock at you!"

Marco, on the other hand, was not about to let the subject of Star go so easily, "Look, River, I've got to say, I'm pretty worried about Star. She left Earth in kind of a hurry. She's not in trouble or anything, right?" The Latino boy laughed nervously.

For about a whole second, River had the most dumfounded look on his face before he laughed it off, "No, not at all! She and her mother just took a little trip, and Moon-pie asked me to keep up around the kingdom until they get back. So, we've been rippin' it non-stop for daaaaayysss!" His face rapidly contorted from nonchalant, to nervous if not slightly worried, before ending with a carefree demeanor as he yelled out his last sentence while bobbing himself up and down.

Marco didn't find the king's words reassuring. Especially after considering the condition of the castle alone, he only grew more concerned, "I - I don't know man, have you… _looked_ outside?" Marco asked while leading River out onto the nearby balcony.

"What do you mean, _"Have I looked outside?"_ " River asked genuinely confused.

"What I mean is, morale doesn't look so high to me." Marco simply answered as they both looked over the kingdom. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight. People were running around and screaming in the streets, garbage was littered everywhere, houses were in shambles, and one building was even on fire in the distance!

Despite the look of shock that initially adorned the king's face, he instantly wiped the expression away, "What are you talking about, Marco? The people are happy if their king is happy!" River exclaimed, not willing to immediately admit his obvious failure at truly keeping his people happy. But if that wasn't enough, he took it one step further by jumping upon the edge of the balcony, "Let me show you." he told Marco before addressing his citizens, "Greetings my gleeful subjects!" He shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. It worked, as everyone momentarily went silent and focused their attention towards their king. After shouting some sort of quick after-greeting that only his fellow Mewmans could understand, he continued his speech, "My know-it-all friend, Marco Diaz here, seems to think you're not having a good time, but I said that's impossible! Of course you're having a good time, with all these good times I'm having!" While he was talking, River failed to notice all of the distraught, horrified, sad, and downright blank faces the people had while listening to him, therefore he continued on still, "So tell me, are you not lifted!?" River finally finished his speech while raising both of his hands into the air, expecting his people to follow along.

Literally only one woman in the entire crowd gave out a shout of glee.

Everyone else took the opportunity to voice their opinions. "Hows about you lift some of this garbage out of the streets?" One man with a thick Scottish accent started the stream of complaints.

"Huh, is that what that stuff is?" The king asked nonchalantly, "I thought you were all having a garage sale."

"What are you going to do about that burning building?" another man asked, pointing directly to the beforementioned building that was on fire.

By then, Marco had an absolutely horrified look on his face, but River didn't seem to care as he replied to the citizen while keeping his carefree attitude intact. Although, one couldn't be too sure if River was keeping his eyes closed the entire time because of how little he cared, or if he was simply trying to keep his true emotions from showing through while he answered, "Well, you have to let one burn every once in a while. How else will you have room for a new one?"

"Well, what about that monster in the cornfield?" an old woman spoke up.

Finally, the king thought he had a complaint brought to him that held no merit, "There's no monster in the corn –"

"RRROOOAAAAARRRR!"

Key word being, ' _thought._ ' Turns out the king was quite wrong as a ginormous monster really _was_ seen out in the kingdom's local cornfield.

If nothing else, merely seeing that monster finally snapped at least a modicum of sense into the king, as he was only now willing to acknowledge there is a viable concern. And if the look on Marco's face wasn't already bad enough before, the expression he wore now certainly topped it.

"Huh, well I'll be dipped." River deadpanned. He was shocked, yes, but still willing to prove to his people he can handle it. Cracking his knuckles, he proclaimed in a confident voice, "Well, I should be able to take care of _that_." before calling out to the monster several times to go away while signaling with hand gestures for it to 'shoo.'

Unfortunately, the monster only seemed to take the king's order as a challenge, for instead of walking away, it started moving towards the kingdom.

River didn't panic yet, "Don't worry, she'll never make it past the magic shield!"

With a single step, the monster effortlessly stepped right over the shield, causing all the people to collectively gasp and scream in fear.

Now one could see the visible worry betraying the king's face, "There's still the moat! She'll never make it across the magic moat."

Again, a single step was all it took for the monster to not only cross the moat, but also crush it with its foot. Of course, it's not like things were any tougher for the monster when the moat was revealed to not have any water inside it!

River was finally starting to get desperate, "The magic traffic cones?" He asked more than replied.

The cones were nothing compared to the unstoppable might of the monster. The people were screaming even louder than before, with one man announcing they were all about to die, causing everyone to start running around in a panic.

"Hey! Thanks for partying us all to our deaths!" The same old lady who originally pointed out the monster in the first place screamed at the king.

Those were the words that did it. King River finally realized all of this was ultimately his fault, and he could not deny the truth of his fellow subjects' pain and suffering any longer. With tears stinging his eyes and a heavy heart, he admitted, "She's right, I'm not fit to rule." His eyes suddenly on the brink of releasing the water works, he turned to look directly at Marco, who was staring back with a sympathetic gaze.

Walking strait up to Marco, River took off his crown. Looking down at it for a moment, he thought of simply handing it over to the boy. Even Marco, sort of sensing the king's original plan, started lifting his own arms up a bit just so he could catch it. After looking back up into the teenager's eyes, however, all River could see was a natural born leader. Someone he believed was truly worthy of the crown. After all, Marco was the one who pointed out the condition of his kingdom and the morale of his people in the first place, proving the Latino's perceptiveness – a trait crucial to being a good ruler. Add on top of that how close Marco appeared to be with his daughter, the king was convinced the kingdom was bound to become his, eventually. At the last possible second, River did the unexpected. Within the blink of an eye, he turned the crown around, facing it outward, before placing it right on top of Marco's head.

"Wait, what?!" Marco shouted out of pure shock over the sudden turn in events. He was even rendered momentarily immobile cause he couldn't process what just happened right away – and that was all the time it took. Though it really wasn't all that long, in the time it did take Marco to snap back into reality, he couldn't help but notice a small, yet strong flash of light shine above his head for a split second. He could only assume it came from the crown, although he couldn't possibly understand why that would be. Before he could ponder on that any longer, he realized what – or rather who – he should be focusing on. "Um, wait a minute! River, what was that all about?" He turned his head only to catch a crying River already halfway through the balcony door just before he slammed it right in front of his face. "Hey!" Shouted the newly crowned boy.

Marco started sprinting towards the door after him, while along the way, attempting to take off the crown, "River! You can't just give me… your… crown…" In the middle of his exclamation, he realized the crown wouldn't come off. Stopping dead in his tracks, he tried a few more times hoping maybe his grip simply faltered, but it appeared not to be the case. No matter how hard he tried, the crown remained secured tight to his head as if somebody super-super glued it on! Marco wondered how this was possible, until he remembered that flash of light earlier. It came from the crown, it must be a part of this! Awestruck in more shock and now slight horror, Marco whispered to himself, "Oh River, what did you do?" Shaking off his fear, he continued to the door, but after some banging, he quickly realized it wouldn't budge. Luckily there was a small window just to the side of the door for Marco to look through. He saw River lying on the couch, still bawling his eyes out, before he glanced over to see the inside of the balcony door locked, "You locked me out!"

River briefly looked up to see Marco through the window, "Oh, no! Now I lock you on the balcony." He said in further despair.

Despite his clear annoyance over his predicament, Marco did not want to hurt the king's feelings any more than they already were, so he tried his best to be consoling, "It's okay," he strained to squeeze his head through the window, but the crown stuck to his head prevented him from doing so. The human had so many questions he wanted answered, but knew he would have to help solve the Mewman king's problems first, before he could work on his own. Keeping his further internal freak-out at bay, he settled with slipping his arm through instead, "just unlock the door!"

Marco's comment only seemed to make River all the more distraught as he held his hands over his eyes. "I can't do anything right!" The king cried out while lifting his cape over his face, "I can't do _anything_ …" he couldn't finish his sentence as his blubbering grew louder and more erratic than before.

After a few more failed attempts at getting through the opening, as well as just trying to remove the crown in general, Marco resorted to the only thing he could do in his situation – shouting, "Hey, pull yourself together, man!"

"Moon should have never left me in charge!" River's cry was muffled from underneath his cape, "' _The people love you_ ' She said, _'Keep them happy and safe'_ she said," the king continued as he finally took his cape off, "and now, because of me, the kingdom is defenseless!" He gestured towards a hot tub with a couple of knights passed out inside of it, one of whom blew a party noise maker in their sleep. He turned his attention back to Marco still stuck on the balcony, "Moon didn't even tell me where she was taking Star! What if something happened to them? No wonder I want to party all the time, I'm worried sick!" River finished with his head in his hands and a sorrowful look on his face.

Marco couldn't help but look at the king with empathy. River's confession left Marco understanding exactly why the ruler was such an emotional wreck, leading to his festively destructive behavior – he couldn't cope with the thought of possibly losing the two people he loved the most! Marco couldn't blame him, and if the red hooded boy was being perfectly honest, a part of him sort of felt the same way, "I'm worried too. Star just… left!" He said, rubbing one hand behind his head, partly to express his feelings, partly as an excuse to subtly try taking off the crown again, "Do you have any idea when she'll be back?"

River seemed to perk up for a moment at Marco's question, "It's funny you should ask, Marco, let me show you something." He started getting up as he signaled for Marco to follow him, only for the Latino to stop him.

Seeing his shot at freedom, Marco took his chance, "Hey!" he shouted, effectively gaining the king's attention. Poking his arm through the window again, he simply points at the lock while saying, "Um, the door!"

"Ah, yes of course." River mumbled, finally unlocking the balcony door, "Sorry about that." He quickly added, formerly continuing with what he wanted to show Marco originally.

Marco merely rolled his eyes, but was thankful nonetheless.

"Now, as I was saying," River began, walking up to what appeared to be a giant closet of some kind, "whenever Moon goes away, she always puts together a few outfits for me, so I know what to wear while she's gone. But – but look at this!" He pointed his finger to the ceiling revealing many outfits stretching out just as high, "She's got them piled up, all the way to the top of the room," the king gave out a nervous laugh before it quickly morphed into more crying, "so it's probably, she's not coming back… anytime soon! Is she, Marco?" he wailed out in another burst of tears.

Marco didn't really know how to answer that, for he couldn't be sure himself. One thing he was certain of, however, was how Star and especially her mother were counting on River to take care of the kingdom in their absence, "I don't know, but they can't ever come home, if they don't have a home, to come home to."

"RRROOOAAARRRR" Another loud roar reverberated in the distance as the monster's ever approaching footsteps grew closer.

Reminded of the threat looming right outside the castle, River panicked once again, "I see what you're saying, this is the end to everything!" he replied, sitting down on the ground in an upright fetal position, rocking back and forth, sucking his thumb.

"No!" Marco began to clarify, leaning over behind the king at eye level, "It means you have to go lead your people."

"But they hate me," Objected River, turning towards Marco as more tears filled his eyes, "They've never hated me before!"

Spinning River around to face him completely, Marco proclaimed, "It doesn't matter," he kneeled to show the king the crown still fused to his head, while at the same time doing his best to retain eye contact, "you're the only king they have."

Marco's words hit River like a bus, "You sound just like my wife," again, he looked into those almond eyes of the teenager in front of him, reinforcing his previous judgements on Marco being a born leader, "and that's exactly why you would make a good ruler some day!" he briefly mentioned with heightened spirits.

"Huh!?" Marco exclaimed in confusion over River's words.

Ignoring Marco, River continued, "But for now, that's just what I need!" With a newfound fire in his eyes, the king stood up clenching his hands into fists, before running right past Marco for the balcony to address his people once more.

Before he got there, Marco called out to him again, "Wait!"

River turned around, "What is it now?" he asked annoyed.

Pointing at his head, Marco replied, "Your crown!" as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Aren't you going to take it back?" He may not have been able to get the crown off himself, but he figured if the king put it on him, he could get it off.

"Oh, right." Walking back to Marco, River hovered his hands on either side of the crown. However, once he saw himself in its reflection, he still couldn't see someone worthy of the crown – at least, not worthier than the one currently wearing it. The king put both his fists back to his sides with a resolute expression, "No!"

"WHAT!?" Marco yelled.

"I said no, Marco!" River reaffirmed, waving a hand in front of him in a rejecting manner, "I will not take it back."

"Well, why not?" Marco asked desperately, trying once more to yank it off. He didn't deserve this crown, it was River's! He was about to ask why he couldn't take it off, but River beat him to the punch.

"I need to prove my worth, Marco!" River proclaimed, putting his fists in front of himself in a fighting pose, "Show my people I have truly _earned_ my right to wear that crown. Then, and only then, will I reclaim what is rightfully mine!" Raising his fists in the air, he started making his way back towards the balcony, "And the best way to do that, is by stopping that monster coming for us!"

Marco was left speechless. All he could do was follow behind River to the balcony, while having one last go tugging at the crown.

"My people, please listen!" River shouted out. His words fell on deaf ears as everyone continued screaming and running around in panic. The king persisted anyway, "We all – gah!" Well, at least one person was listening, but didn't seem to like what they were hearing as they hurled an ear of corn right at their king's face. "Okay, I deserved _that_." River waved it off.

Marco couldn't help but crack the smallest little smile at that.

"Look," River continued, "If the queen were here, she'd fix all this with her magic. Well, she's not here!" He placed one leg on the edge of the balcony wall, "But that doesn't mean we should cower in fear. We still have each other, and together, we can defeat this monster!" he declared while clenching a single fist in the air.

"No offence king, but you're a terrible king!" One woman, curled up on the ground, shouted.

River looked down at himself for second before putting his foot back down and speaking again, "You're right, I stink at this. But right now, I'm all you've got, and you're all I got!"

A guy within a group of three people who revealed themselves to be hiding underneath a flipped over wagon spoke up, " _We_ can't do anything!" before a woman right next he him continued for him, "We don't have any weapons or magic!"

"We don't _need_ magic to do extraordinary things!" River countered, then he pointed at two people in particular, "Dentist, construction worker! Remember when you two worked together to dislodge that tooth shaped rock in the road?"

The unlikely duo looked and nodded at each other with small, hopeful smiles.

"Blacksmith! You worked with the turtle sanctuary to make iron shells for the turtles in need."

The blacksmith held up a turtle wearing a metal shell, lightly hitting a tiny hammer on it to further prove the king's point.

Finally, the king pointed out two random people who were staring intently at each other over a barrel, "And you two weirdos hold the record for the longest staring contest."

Startled by the fact that their king just mentioned them, the guy gasped out an astonished cry that made him blink as he focused his attention to the king. This, in turn, made the woman he was having the contest with to shout out in joy, "Woohoo!" Once he realized what just happed, the guy put his hands over his eyes and cried out in defeat, "Aw, man, I lost!"

"We all can do something unique and helpful," River went back to lecturing his entire kingdom, "and that's Mewni's greatest strength, and it's what Queen Moon loves the most about all of you!"

The king's words actually seemed to inspire all of the citizens as they were now starting to talk amongst each other in a positive light. At least, until one person decided to rain on their parade, "Uh, I don't think any of that is going to help us defeat the monster." He pointed out as the monster was seen approaching closer still.

Disregarding the man, River was standing full on the balcony's edge now, "So, what do you say, let's show that monster what happens when it messes with Mewmans!"

Everyone started cheering, reared up for whatever comes their way now!

Jumping down from the balcony, River put an arm around Marco who was smiling proudly at the king for his speech. Then he called out for one of his servants, "Fetch us our loin cloths!" he said with a maniacal smile.

"What?" Marco asked in bewilderment.

Next thing anyone knew, King River burst through the doors of the kingdom's walls, wearing nothing but a leafy loin cloth around his waist. With a loud battle cry, he led his people for a frontal assault on the monster. Marco was running beside him in his own loin cloth, only he wore it outside of his normal clothes.

Running down the path, River bent down on his hands and knees licking the ground in some sort of weird wilderness tracking technique. "He's near." The king announced ominously.

"Yeah, he's right there." Marco pointed beside him, as the monster was clearly right next to them.

Climbing up a small hill, River stood his ground, "Hey, Monster!" He yelled out. The monster instantly turned its attention towards him. "Go away!" The king demanded, gesturing with his arms for it to leave.

The monster took a few more steps directly up to the king. Instead of crushing him or doing anything else one might expect such an enormous monster to do, however, the monster just stopped and started talking, "Go away? But, you're the one who called me over."

River stood there flabbergasted, "What! I didn't call you over."

"Yes you did." The monster insisted. Lifting his hands, he copied the kings previous hand signals, "You kept motioning, ' _Come here, come here!_ '"

Not expecting the turn this whole situation had taken, River just began explaining, "No! No! I was motioning, ' _Go away, go away!_ '" Waving his arms out trying to prove his point.

"No, that's ' _Come here, come here._ '" The monster retaliated again.

"No, it's ' _Go away! Go away!_ '" The king once again clarified.

At this point, the monster sighed heavily, "So you're telling me I came all this way, for nothing!" Then he lifted one of his feet, "I got, like, a thousand splinters on this foot."

"Help!" A man that was revealed to also be stuck on the monster's foot rasped out.

"You might consider widening the streets a little," The monster decided to give a little advice before making his leave, "what a waste of my day."

River simply stood there with a blank face, not really understanding what just happened. The Mewman people, on the other hand, didn't care. Seeing the monster actually going away, they started cheering over their king's supposed 'victory.' Even Marco walked up to him, giving him a thumbs up.

Grabbing Marco's wrist, River held their arms up in triumph, "We did it!" he declared, feeling proud of himself for protecting his people – even if it was in a rather unorthodox way. "Everyone, I'm holding one final off-the-chain party at the castle, in honor of all of you!"

"Three cheers for King River!" The blacksmith shouted.

"Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!" Everyone chanted before erupting into more spontaneous cheering.

Marco took the opportunity to remind River about his crown, "You did good, River." Marco complimented.

Placing a hand on the Latino's shoulder, River felt the need to share the credit, "I couldn't have done it without you, my boy."

Marco shrugged, "Still, I would say you've _earned_ your crown." He said while bending down slightly so the king could reclaim his royal property.

"Ah, yes," The king said with confidence, "I think I can wholeheartedly agree!"

 _Finally!_ Marco thought with relief. Once again, River's hands were mere inches away from grabbing the object off his head…

" _Hooray!_ " A sarcastic voice nobody recognized sounded above the crowd. Everybody turned to see the enemy Ludo, riding on the back of his trusty spider with his eagle behind him, and the glow of half a wand attached to his hand. The interruption also distracted River from retrieving his own crown.

 _Seriously?!_ Marco's thought essentially had a double meaning behind it. On one hand, he was concerned about the new threat which just presented itself at the worst possible moment. On the other, he was really getting fed up with being forced to wear this crown that, for reasons he could not begin to fathom, won't come off for the life of him!

"Hip, hip, hooray… indeed." Ludo said in a sinister tone as he commanded an entire army of rats to invade the kingdom.

 **A/N – First, for those of you who might be questioning why River referred to the monster as a 'she' at first, only to switch to 'he' later on, it is only because I was watching and rewatching this episode more than enough times just to make sure I got all the dialogue right, and I kid you not, that is honest to goodness how River referred to the monster in the episode. Now, I do plan on continuing this fic going right into the episode ' _King Ludo'_ next, which is where I will finally give an explanation as to why Marco can't take off the crown. Believe me, I tried to find a good place to put it into this chapter, but with the way I wrote it, there was just no place I could put it that wouldn't have made it seem too shoehorned in, or make Marco seem insensitive over River's emotional state.**


	2. King Ludo

**A/N – Hey! Its been a while, but I finally got this done! This chapter was a bit of a challenge for me to construct, especially when in accordance with the episode since there wasn't much I could present as different or new after Marco began crawling through the vents, but I got through it.^^ And as promised, this chapter has an explanation as to why Marco can't take off the crown. It probably isn't all that great, but I hope you all can find some enjoyment out of it, anyways.**

King Ludo

"AHHH, NO BUTTERFLYS'! Get that out of here!" The newly self-proclaimed King Ludo screamed. Shortly after attacking the kingdom with his rat army, he laid siege to the throne of Mewnie, overthrowing the true ruler, King River. Now with him along with the one Ludo dubbed 'karate boy' both locked away in the dungeon, the phony monarch was free to redecorate the castle as he saw fit. Removing all things remotely resembling anyone from the Butterfly royal family was number one on his to-do list. After his rat followers assured him they threw out the last of it over the balcony, the bird had a relived smile on his face, "And with that, everything in my kingdom is in order."

Whatever 'order' meant to Ludo, anyone else would certainly disagree. The damage caused by King River's parties looked like a utopia compared to how it was now! Practically every building was on fire, garbage littered every street corner, flies and other insects were overpopulating the area, and the people were downright miserable. Despite all this, the flightless fiend had only one concern, "Well, _almost_ everything." he mumbled while putting a hand to his head, reminding himself of the distinct lack of a certain crown where he believed one should be.

"Corn cobs here, get your corn cobs." One man working a food vendor dully called out. The moment he did however, a pack of the rats came swarming in, causing the man to panic, "No, NO, not again! Ahhh!" The vermin ate everything he had in seconds. "These rats have eaten me out of house and home!" he cried in despair.

"Right, they will do that." Ludo replied to the man's plea, surprisingly seeming to address it as a valid concern, "Okay, a few kinks to work out, but overall the citizens of Mewnie love me!" He confidently proclaimed. Attempting to prove his point, he turned to a woman selling her own stuff, "Hey, merch vendor! How are the King Ludo shirts selling?"

"Very, very…Uh, very not good. Not good at all, your majesty." She simply answered.

The pseudo king was not happy to hear that, "But what about the masks?" he quickly asked, hoping those would bring him better news.

The woman slightly cringed in worry over how her new monarch might react to what she has to say next, "Those especially. Here, I'll show you." She grabbed a mask from her cart that was in the shape of Ludo's face, only it sported a golden crown with a pink gem in the center above the head. She handed it out to a small child who was passing by with his mother, "Greetings, young man!" She began, pulling off her most enthusiastic voice, "Might I interest you in a King Ludo mask?"

Instantly, the boy screeched in sheer terror while his mother grabbed him by the wrist hightailing them both out of there as fast as possible, shouting, "Run baby, RUN!"

Ludo looked as if he were in deep thought, he never imagined anyone could react like _that_ over a simple mask, "Maybe it's the beard." he contemplated while stroking his beard.

"No, my lord, they just don't like you." The merchant bluntly stated.

As she got done saying that, a couple walked by with a look of amazement on their faces, "Oh, honey! Look at all that great stuff." The woman told her husband. "Wow, we should load up." The husband agreed.

Ludo was happy to hear _somebody_ seemed interested in his likeness, "Finally, someone with taste!" the false king smiled.

The moment was short lived, however, when the couple ran right past the vendor over to the pile of Butterfly memorabilia still in a large heap right outside the castle. The man started sifting through it, "Oh, let me just… Ooo!" he exclaimed as he held up a giant stone bust of King River, "This would look great in our fourier!"

"How much for this handsome fellow?" The wife asked the vendor while pointing to the same bust her husband was holding.

The merchant looked uneasy, "Oh, well…"

"IT'S NOT FOR SALE!" The angry bird's voice interrupted. "Oh, come on!" He continued while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "You know what? That's it, Levatato!" Aiming his hand with half a wand stuck to it, the pseudo monarch levitated the entire pile of the Butterfly's family belongings into the sky, "There, all that terrible Butterfly stuff is gone!" he declared with a smile, "Now, how about a nice King Ludo coffee mug, or a bobble head?" He finished as he held up both mentioned items in his hands, trying to persuade the couple into buying some of his own merch instead.

"We don't want your stuff!" The man shouted. "Yeah, we don't like you!" The woman continued, "Nobody likes you, dude!"

"You see what I'm dealing with, here?" The merchant asked.

Growing furious, Ludo threw both objects he was holding to his sides, "I am your king, I command you to like me!" he demanded while pointing directly at them. It wasn't fair that he went through all this trouble of taking over the kingdom, only for the locals to not accept him!

The couple just stared at their phony ruler with deadpan expressions, "No…" the man drawled. "Yeah! And besides, if you really are our king, then where is your crown?" The woman jived.

Looking up, Ludo realized she was right, "YYYEAAAAGHHH!" the agitated aviary yelled in fury, "I need that crown! Once I get it, you all will have no choice but to like me!"

* * *

In a dungeon beneath the castle, Marco and King River are sitting against a wall with their arms chained above their heads, both still wearing their leafy loin cloths from before they were captured, and the Latino boy still sporting the king's crown upon his head. Obviously bored with nothing else to do, the two had created their own makeshift chessboard in the dirt beneath them with pieces consisting of rocks and dead insects to play on in order to pass the time. The captured ruler squeezed one of the dead insects between his toes as he moved it across the board knocking a stone off its space, "Checkmate!"

"Ugh, I'm bad at _everything_." Marco sighed heavily over his loss.

River, on the other hand, had a smug look on his face through the boy's statement. In retaliation, he replied, "First rule of Chess Marco, you must always protect your king."

Marco gave a brief smile over the king's words, but before either of them could continue, they heard the door to the dungeon begin to shift. In a brief panic, River quickly swept away the evidence of their boardgame with his leg just as the door opened to reveal Ludo with two of his rat guards on either side of him.

"What do _you_ want?" the true King of Mewnie asked the phony with distaste.

Pointing his finger, Ludo shouted out, "You're coming with me!"

Having none of it, River was quick to react, "No way! I'm not going anywhere with you."

While he was talking, Ludo approached the two of them, "No, not you!" the bird briefly stated, waving the king off dismissively, "You!" The furious fiend glared daggers at Marco, "You are going to give me that crown… This! Instant!"

With a mix of shock and anger on his face, Marco wasn't about to let Ludo have the satisfaction of threatening him, "I wouldn't even if I could!"

Confused, Ludo blinked before he asked, "Even if you could? WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Of course you can, just hand it over!" Jumping onto Marco's shoulder, the angry bird grasped the crown with both his hands trying to yank it off, unsuccessfully, "What is wrong with this thing, why won't it come off!"

"Aahhh!" Marco yelped in slight pain. "Stop it! Get off!"

As his efforts proved futile, Ludo got desperate, "Okay, that's it!" Climbing off the boy, he attempted one final tactic, "Levitato!" the little monster cried out, aiming his wand hand directly at the crown. Sure enough, the crown began floating into the air… only for the red hooded boy to be taken along for the ride.

"YYAAAAGGGHHH!" Ludo yelled out, more frustrated than ever. Releasing the spell, Marco fell against the ground and adjacent wall with a thud. Thankfully, the chains on his wrists kept the teenagers' distance from the ground limited, but it still didn't make the fall any less painful.

A few deep chuckles could suddenly be heard from the side. River was laughing at the situation, but not at Marco's pain, but instead over the information he knew that Ludo didn't, "None of that is going to work! Only the royal family has the power to take off our crowns at will."

This was news to both monster and human alike, "What!?"

"What are you talking about?" Ludo inquired.

For once, Marco had to agree with his enemy, "Actually River, I've been meaning to ask you about the same thing for a while now, myself."

Seeing as he already put himself into this position, the king determined there was no backing out now, "Well, I really don't understand it completely myself – Moon knows much more about it than I do – but from what I can gather, it was some sort of security measure enchanted onto the crowns back when they were first made." River began.

"Security measure?" Marco asked perplexed, "What kind of security measure requires getting crowns stuck onto other peoples' heads?!"

Now it was Ludo's turn to agree with his foe, "Yeah, I mean seriously man, that's just messed up. And that's coming from _me_!" the false king exclaimed with wide eyes while putting a hand to his chest.

"Hmm, perhaps…" River couldn't necessarily disagree with Ludo's statement, but at the same time, he could still bring up a decent argument against it, "but it _is_ fulfilling its purpose, is it not?" the king queried with a smug smirk.

The stunned looks on both the others' faces said it all, but for clarification, Marco felt the need to ask, "I-I'm sorry, but… but what do you mean?!" he dryly gulped.

Finally, River was able to get back to his story, "You see, the original royals always feared the possibility of the crowns getting stolen by evil forces, much like now," the king quickly added in that last part while staring directly at Ludo with a stern expression. Before the irked raptor could retaliate, however, the captured monarch continued, " _so_ , they added the enchantment to the crowns as a precaution. That way, if they ever _were_ under threat of being snatched, the royals – from any given time – could simply place their crowns upon the heads of those they trusted most. Knowing that nobody but themselves could take them off assured the royals of the crowns' safety." The current royal finished.

This important piece of historical information blew both Marco and Ludo's minds. With eyes as wide as 50 cent pieces and their jaws hitting the floor, it took them a full moment before either of them could speak again. Shaking his head, Marco began first, "You mean to tell me, I'm acting as a living safe for this thing until either you or one of your family finally takes it off!"

"Precisely Marco!" The king professed without hesitation.

Marco was horrified by this point, "Dude, off the top of my head, I can think of at least 50 different ways that can go horribly wrong!"

Before River or Marco had a chance to say anything more, Ludo cut in, "But wait, I am king now! I sit on the throne, I even have a part of the Butterfly wand!" he lifted his arm with the piece of the wand attached to it in order to prove his point, "So aren't I royalty now, why can't I just take the crown off, myself?" the phony ruler cried out in desperation.

Laughing sardonically, River told it like it is, "Didn't you hear a word I just said?" he asked in disbelief, " _You_ are a threat to the crown. Marco is currently wearing the crown to keep it safe _from you_." the king practically spelled out to make it as simple as possible for Ludo to understand, "You may have taken over the throne, and even stolen a piece of my family's most powerful possession, but none of that makes you a king. Not now, not ever!"

The flightless fowl slowly walked towards his royal captive in a rage, "Oh, I heard what you said alright," the villain said with malice, "and I don't care!" he shouted as he took out a key, "I'll still rule over Mewnie! You just have to take the crown from karate boy and place it on _my_ head." The runt started unlocking the king's chains, while doing so, Marco simply scowled at Ludo from behind.

River rolled his eyes, "And why would I do that?" he asked the bird in an odd mixture of skepticism and amusement.

His words caused Ludo to stop fiddling with the lock, "I need that crown to get the people to like me."

"Ha!" The king's booming voice reverberated, "You really think a fancy hunk of metal is going to get anybody to like _you_?" River laughed quizzaciously, "The crown may be enchanted, but it can't perform miracles!" Marco could be heard joining in on the laughter.

Narrowing his eyes in anger, the fowl pointed at the king, "Then you will _command_ the people to like me!"

" _I_ don't even like you!" River didn't skip a beat, "Shuffling about, talking to that 'wand hand' of yours… it's weird." He mentioned with a creeped out look on his face.

Having had enough, the enraged evildoer audibly growled, facepalming himself as he walked towards the door, "Fine! If you won't help me, then you can just rot in this cell." Ludo held up the key meant to unlock their chains by a string, "Say 'goodbye' to your freedom!" To emphasize his point, he tried to wear the key around his neck, only for the string to get stuck around his forehead. "Come on, you stupid chain!"

Watching Ludo struggle with his necklace, Marco and the king burst out into another giggling fit over the angry bird's misfortune, "Ha haaa! Oh-ho, Ludo!" the Latino boy cried out in hysterics.

"Butter!" Ludo commanded one of his rat guards. Once given an entire stick of butter, the feathered monster spread it across his forehead, thus allowing him to finally slip the chain down to his neck. Throwing the butter off to the side, he turned his attention back to his prisoners, "Change of plan! I'm giving you 24 hours to give me that crown and figure out a way to make the people of Mewnie like me, or I'll…" it took a moment for the illegitimate monarch to think of a threat, but when he did, his wand hand began to glow, "I'll levitato you into the sky _forever_!"

Marco looked concerned over Ludo's words, but River wasn't intimidated in the slightest, "Ooh, I'm so scared." He mocked.

Leaning forward, Ludo repeated his original demand, "24 hours!" before finally slamming the door, taking his guards with him.

Now with the two prisoners finally alone, they were free to converse with each other once more, "Dude, Ludo's gone completely nuts!" Marco acknowledged.

River agreed with Marco, but not for the reasons one might think, "You're telling me, he left behind a perfectly good stick of butter!" The king did his best to reach out for the condiment with his foot, "I can almost taste it."

Not impressed with this antic, Marco began to scold the ruler, "River! Now is no time for…" the lightbulb suddenly went off in his head "butter!" he exclaimed, looking up at his chains as an idea came to him. Kicking off his shoe, the red hooded teen started reaching out for the butter himself.

As the boy inched closer to his prize, River cheered him along, "Oh, yes, yes! You're young and limber, reach out for it boy!" and when Marco's toes gripped the stick, the king's voice rose about an octave, "Excellent, haha!"

Pulling the ingredient inward, Marco managed to flip it into the air and miraculously catch it in his hand still chained above his head, "Ha-ha!" he proudly cried over his impressive feat.

As Marco started spreading the butter across his wrists, River's voice still rambled, "Carful, save some for the gruel boy." Ignoring him, the Latino continued his escape plan by yanking his now slippery hands out of the chains. "Nice work, Marco!" The king praised with a huge smile.

Now free, Marco had half a mind to use the butter in yet another attempt to pry the crown off his head, but after remembering what the king said, concluded it would ultimately be useless. So, he simply handed the stick to River, "Here, butter yourself up, and I'll see if I can figure a way out of here."

"Try the A.C. vent." River suggested without even thinking about it.

Shocked at this revelation, Marco turned around to see if the king's statement was true. Sure enough, on the top right corner of the far wall, was a grate leading to a ventilation shaft. "The dungeon has air conditioning?" He asked in bewilderment.

The king answered as if such knowledge was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's a dungeon, not a torture chamber!"

Deciding to just go with it, Marco ran up to the vent and opened it, "Nice!" he exclaimed before turning his attention back to River, "How are those shackles coming?" he asked, expecting the king to have freed himself by now.

With butter smeared all around his mouth, River wore an expression resembling a 5-year-old after they just got caught doing something they weren't supposed to. One of those faces that spoke for itself letting the whole world know, ' _I just made a terrible mistake!_ ' Despite this, the grown man still tried to play the innocent card with his reply, "I don't think this is going to work." Was all he said.

Not pleased with the king's actions, Marco confronted him like a parent to their child, "River! Did you eat the butter, River?" The teenager already knew the answer, he only wanted the man child to acknowledge the truth for himself.

The king merely stared on ahead with wide eyes before trying his hand with the 'depressed stress-eater' card, "I used to be king." He states flatly.

Marco didn't buy it for a second, "And you still are!" he shouted while extending his arms out in front of him.

"A king who has been captured!" River wasn't giving up so easily.

Giving in, Marco just facepalmed himself before coming up with a plan, "Okay, okay. I'll go steal that key from Ludo, and then we'll both get out of here." He finished, pointing at the A.C. vent.

Hearing this, the king suddenly looked guilty, "You should just go. This isn't your fight!"

"And be stuck with this crown on my head forever?" The Latino asked rhetorically, "Not a chance!" The red hooded boy almost left through the vent when one last thought came to him, "Which reminds me, why _did_ you place it on my head in the first place?"

Not expecting this question, River almost choked on his own saliva in surprise, but still recovered quick enough, "Uh, um…You heard what I said! Ludo was a threat to the crown, now you're protecting it."

Rolling his eyes, Marco crossed his arms around his chest, "Maybe that's true _now_ , but you put the crown on me before he invaded." He quarried further.

River was getting visibly more uncomfortable by the second, "Ugh…" he was desperate to find any excuse he could come up with that wasn't the truth. It was too embarrassing to reveal! Then it dawned on him, "The monster!" he proclaimed, "Remember, the monster in the corn field? It was coming towards us! I couldn't be too sure what it wanted at the time, so I took the necessary precautions." He finished the sentence amazed at how convincing his own lie was.

Even Marco had to admit, if he didn't know better, he would have bought it. But thinking back to the moment when the king crowned him – the look of despair in the broken ruler's eyes along with his own questioning of whether he was fit to rule in the first place – it made Marco suspect deeper intentions. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. The teenager was still a bit mad about becoming the human equivalent of a vault, yet he knew he wasn't going to get any further interrogating the king. Also, it didn't help knowing the clock was ticking against them. To continue talking risked their chance at escape, therefore, he decided to let it go for now, "Alright, if you say so." The red hooded boy said dismissively before jumping into the air vent that was, thankfully, big enough for him to fit through, even with the crown on his head.

River still wasn't fond of Marco's plan to free them. In a last-ditch effort to stop him, the king replied, "Marco, don't do this! Listen to your king." Despite knowing his pleas already fallen on deaf ears.

* * *

After crawling around in the vents, Marco eventually found the room Ludo was sleeping in. Noticing a lump under the sheets, he suspected he found who he was looking for. Quietly creeping into the room, the boy made it to the bed only to reveal a mime sleeping in the bird's place instead, "AAAAHHHHHHH!" the Latino shouted in a mix of shock and fear as he backed into a food try. Before things could get any worse, however, he was caught and silenced by an old friend, "Ruberiot?"

"Quiet dude, you're gonna get us caught." The singer said in a soft voice.

After getting introduced to two other artists who explained they were squatting in the castle together ever since Ludo's takeover, they heard the very fiend's voice approaching the door, signaling for them to hide back in the vent.

Ludo walked through the door wearing one of the King Ludo masks from earlier, "I don't get it!" He raged, "How are these things not flying off the shelves?" he questioned before taking off the mask, "It can't be for my lack of devilishly good looks." After that, the false monarch started making his way towards the bed, mumbling to himself about all of his 'royal duties' he had to take on. Laying down, he tossed the mask to the side and blew out his candle, before muttering, "Being a king is simply exhausting." and instantly fell asleep.

Watching the entire thing from the vent, Marco noticed the key still around Ludo's neck. Seeing his opportunity, "Now's our chance!" the human announced to the other three in a loud whisper, "If we can get that key from Ludo, we can free the king and…" he was interrupted by Ruberiot.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm-a have to stop you right there." He began, "You see, as artists, our job is to comment on the world around us, _not_ doing… stuff." The singer elaborated, "Speaking of which, I couldn't help but notice, is that the king's crown you're wearing?" he cut into his own sentence.

Caught off guard by the question, Marco felt it best only to tell the truth, "Yes." He answered slowly while looking up with his eyes, "Why do you ask?" he asked awkwardly.

Ruberiot cut right to the chase, "Well, why are you wearing it?" the songwriter asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah," The jester added, "what makes you so special to wear the crown jewels?"

A little nervous as to how to answer, Marco stuttered a bit, "Well, um…" Shaking his head, the burnet decided to just be blunt about it, "Look, all I really know is King River put it on me for some strange reason and now I can't take it off!" he frantically explained, yanking on the crown to prove his point.

This peaked all the artists' interest, "Can't take it off?" The girl started, "What do you mean?" Ruberiot continued, "How is that even possible?" even the mime mimed out in which Ruberiot translated.

Dramatically waving his arms in front of his face, Marco asked in frustration, "Does it matter? None of that is not important right now! What does matter is that I get that key!" He pointed at Ludo through the vent grate.

Not wanting to anger the Latino any more, Ruberiot raised his hands in a calming motion, "Okay, fine. But I'm afraid you're on your own, as I said, we're only made to observe. A heavy burden, yes, but that's what it means to be an artiest."

The comment spurred the jester girl sitting beside him to chime in, "Oh, please! _You_ an artist? You're nothing but a jingle scribbler!" she mocked Ruberiot's artistic ability. This, in turn, sparked an argument between the two about who's the real artist, but both agreeing that the mime is a true artistic genius.

To prevent things from escalating further, Marco intervened, "Guys! Look, I'm not a soldier either, but there's a time, when you have to get off the sidelines and get involved, and if the four of us work together, we can save the true King of Mewnie. Now who's with me!" He asked, pointing at them. The others just sat there unimpressed with his little motivational speech and started criticizing him. With an expression that read ' _seriously?'_ Marco deadpanned, "You all make me sick." as he started crawling out of the vent.

Once again, Marco crept across the room to Ludo's bed. When he got there, he reached out for the key, but forgot to factor in the little detail of the key still being attached to a chain around the monster's neck. So, when he grabbed it, he took Ludo along with it. In his panic, the red hooded boy quickly threw the raptor back onto the bed moments before he woke up.

"Who's here? Who's in my royal bedroom?!" The angry bird yelled.

Thinking fast, Marco found the mask Ludo previously discarded and put it on, "Uh, ugh… A guy in a mask!" Luckily, the crown on the mask lined up perfectly with the crown on his head, making it indistinguishable to the oblivious fowl.

Just as Ludo looked close to murdering the poor boy, the artists came to Marco's rescue. Together they performed a little act effective in entertaining Ludo as Marco tried to pick-pocket the key. Unfortunately, things started going downhill fast when Ruberiot and the jester rekindled their argument over which one of them is the artistic hack. An argument the false king himself ended by declaring they were all hacks – except for the mime who is a genius – before ordering his eagle and spider to, "Get them!" Booking it out of there, the four of them managed to get out safely, slamming the door on their pursuers. Seeing his two most trusted followers down and out made the angry bird growl.

Despite escaping the danger, Marco was still a little upset, "I can't believe this," he explained to the others, "I almost had the key!" then focused his attention on the singer and the jester, "Can't you two get along for just _one_ minute?"

Ruberiot didn't hesitate, "But we _like_ not getting along."

"Yeah," jester agreed, "we're good at it." She finished with a smirk, holding up the very key Marco was trying to nab.

The Latino was clearly impressed, "Wow, you guys really had me fooled!"

Ruberiot merely chuckled, "No, we really do hate each other."

* * *

With the help of the artists, Marco popped up out of the dungeon's sewer in front of River, who was happy to see him, "Marco!" he exclaimed.

Taking out the key, the boy freed the king, "Hey king, we're busting you out of here."

The moment the chains unlocked, however, River snapped them right back onto his wrists. "Wha – what are you doing?" Marco cried out, baffled by this action.

Being his stubborn old self, River simply replied, "I won't abandon my people!" his words as firm as they were back when he originally refused to reclaim his crown before they were captured.

Shocked at this revelation, Marco could only ask one thing, "What?"

The king had an answer for his crazy logic, "Sometimes," he began, before deepening his voice to a more ominous tone, "you've got the let the king go."

Before either of them could discuss matters any further, they heard Ludo's horrible singing coming down the hall. Panicking, the three artists ducked back into the sewer, as Marco slipped his hands back into the cuffs which were originally holding him to begin with, as to not raise the fowl's suspicions over his escape. Unfortunately, the Latino dropped the key in the process, and it rolled out onto the middle of the floor.

The door was suddenly kicked open, "Times up!" Ludo shouted in sadistic glee. He reached around his neck for the key, "So, um, ready to… wait, hey…" the fiend briefly panicked when he couldn't find it, "Where's my key?" he asked himself when he noticed it on the ground in front of him. Picking it up, he actually thought he just misplaced it, "I must have dropped my key right in front of you, and you didn't even notice, _what_!" The miniature monster mocked, "You could have been running free by now, prancing in the fields. This must make you feel pretty silly." He finished off his taunting with a laugh.

Before he let himself get too into it, though, the bird commanded his spider to lift him to eye level with King River, "So, are you going to give me that crown and force everyone to like me," he asked a bit too eagerly, pointing at the crown on Marco's head, "or is it levitato time?"

River retained a fierce look in his eyes through the crazed cuckoo's words, "As I mentioned before, the crown can't perform miracles. Even if you _did_ wear it, you will _never_ be king!" The usually carefree king retaliated coolly.

Whether Ludo was intimidated or not was uncertain as he appeared to remain unfazed, but his anger was nonetheless prevalent, "We'll see how you feel once you've been levitatoed." Was all he said, while ordering his eagle to drag River out by his chains. Before getting to the door, the false king quickly turned around to give one last word to Marco, "Mark my words, karate boy, I _will_ get that crown from you, with or without the king's help! But first…" Without even finishing his sentence, the raptor turned dramatically on his heel for the door.

Figuring out exactly what the fowl meant, Marco effortlessly slipped out of his chains again, and started running after the megalomaniac, "No, River!" he shouted, the door slamming in front of his face.

Wasting no time, the red hooded boy jumped right down the sewer where the artists were waiting, "Come on!" he instructed as he started running. Shrugging their shoulders, the three followed their leader.

* * *

"Welcome to the reign of King Ludo!" The bird's voice shouted above a crowd below him. He was riding his spider, standing on an elevated podium in the middle of the kingdom where he had King River chained to a wooden rack on display for all to see, " _This_ is what happens to _anyone_ who doesn't show respect and adoration for their king!" Before doing anything, he turned to River, "Any last words?" the deranged dodo-head asked.

River took the opportunity to give one final pep speech, "People of Mewnie, I am not afraid,"

Unfortunately, those words were all it took for Ludo to see where this was going, "Levitato!" the raptor quickly whipped out his wand hand and aimed it at the true King of Mewnie, blasting him into the sky.

Despite this, the king still managed to at least finish his sentence, "and neither should you!" his voiced carried into the heavens.

A collective gasp, along with a few screams of terror, could be heard amongst the crowd. Pleased with their reaction, Ludo gave his first order he was now certain was going to be followed, "Now, for my first act as your ruler… blacksmith!" he singled the poor man out, "I order you to forge me a new crown, until I can obtain the original one!"

Scared of the consequences if he didn't obey, the blacksmith simply obliged, "Y-yes sir, Ki-King Ludo, sir! Right away." And scurried off to do what he was told.

Down below, four distinct people had spyed the whole situation through a sewer grate with great concern on their faces, "What are we going to do now!" The jester girl spoke up first.

Marco wore a stern expression. With a tone that told everybody he was not fooling around, he simply said, "Now, we fight." as he proceeded to smear a couple of battle streak marks across his cheeks.

This prompted the jester to mention, "Umm… you know that's not mud, right?"

 **A/N – Yeah, as you could probably tell (and as mentioned in my previous A/N), things got a little rocky once I got to the scene where Marco met up with Ruberiot and the others. And I purposely fudged the singing scene because it was pretty much the exact same as it was in the original episode, and I just did NOT want to rewrite that whole song. Sorry if you really wanted to read that, but I felt that if it wasn't going to be any different, then I could pretty much skip it. I don't know if I'll be continuing the story from here on out, 'cause I think it's alright where it's at, and I have no idea how I could continue it, but if enough of you really insist, I'll maybe think about it. In the meantime, thanks for reading!^^**


End file.
